A Solitary Card
by earth.mark.two
Summary: During a casino raid, Kyra is captured by the Hatter and he takes her to the Tea Shop. When she wakes up, there'll be a lot of explaining to do. HatterOC. Rated T  may be M in later chapters
1. The Hatter and the Dealer

Title : A Solitary Card

Rating : T, but may be M in later chapters

Pairing : Hatter/OC – don't like, don't read

Category : TV Alice, 2009

Synopsis : When Hatter captures one of the dealers from the casino, she fights him at every turn. Somehow, the Hatter and the Dealer must learn to co-operate. HatterOC

. . . . . .

Chapter One

. . .

Thoughts flooded into her mind. Too fast; too sudden an influx for her fragile composure. Red and purple marks stained her wrists beneath the rope that held them tightly together. Her ankles were marred by the same condition.

"Well, well. Look who's finally decided to join us." She looked up at the sound of the voice, searching around her desperately to find the source. A cleanly dressed man with a hat stared back at her. "You've been dirtying my grass for the past week, sweetheart."

"A week?" She squeaked, her voice rusty from lack of use, and he smirked.

"If it weren't for you, we'd have quite a few more out of the casino." Her red shoes were stained with god knows what, and her red and white dress were muddy and wet.

"I only did what I had to do to stay alive." She retorted hotly.

"Oh, I'm sure you did. The queen's little denizen, working away at draining every last drop of emotion from the poor little oysters." He says, sarcasm dripping from every word that left his mouth.

"Shut up!" She shouted, her eyes pricking with fresh tears. "You don't know anything!"

"I know you work for the Queen of Hearts. That's all that matters." She struggled at her bindings, and he hesitated before walking over and slicing through the ones at her ankles, then taking a hold of her hands roughly and pulling them to her chest. "Don't try to go anywhere."

The second she was free, she tried to run; it's in her nature. The Hatter, for that's who has her captured in his office, reacted instinctively, leaping at her and sending them both to the ground, where he pinned her hands above her head. "Let me go!"

"What did I say about trying to run?" He retorted, and she resigned herself to glaring at him. "Come on sweetheart. Work with me here. Tell me why you helped the Queen."

"Because I'm one of them! I'm an Oyster, damnit!" There were tears in the corners of her emerald eyes then, sliding across alabaster skin and hissing steam as they hit the grass. "If the Queen believed I was on her side, I could get into the inner workings of the casino. I could bring it down from the inside!"

"You're a part of the resistance?" He questioned, his eyebrows shooting skywards in surprise and his voice gaining at least two octaves. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know about any resistance! I acted of my own volition. Without any help from anyone."

"You thought to bring down the whole house of cards _alone?_" He snorted, standing and holding out a hand. After a few moments, she reached out with one slender hand and he pulled her easily to her feet. "Sweetheart, unless your name is Alice, you're a fool."

"I'm not a fool!" She half-shouted and he gave her a look that said _'Chill, woman' _before pouring his tea into a glass cup. She stood there in silence, then sighed. "It's Kyra."

The Hatter looked up at her, a tiny girl beneath a fearsome mop of red hair, and frowned in confusion.

"My name. It's Kyra."

. . . . . .

There shall be another chapter up _very_ soon.


	2. Famous Last Words

Title : A Solitary Card

Rating : T

Pairing : Hatter/OC

_. . ._

**Last Time, on 'A Solitary Card'**

"_You thought to bring down the whole house of cards alone?" He snorted, standing and holding out a hand. After a few moments, she reached out with one slender hand and he pulled her easily to her feet. "Sweetheart, unless your name is Alice, you're a fool."_

"_I'm not a fool!" She half-shouted and he gave her a look that said 'Chill, woman' before pouring his tea into a glass cup. "It's Kyra."_

_The Hatter looked up at her, a tiny girl beneath a fearsome mop of red hair, and frowned._

"_My name. It's Kyra."_

_. . ._

Chapter Two

. . .

"Well then, Kyra. Perhaps you'd like to change into something a little bit more comfortable." They both knew the hidden meaning, by _comfortable_, the Hatter meant _something that doesn't make you stand out like an elephant._

"Do you have anything?"

"Besides a splendid array of men's clothes," He held up his hands as though to introduce a full wardrobe of clothes her size, then dropped them, "no."

"Oh." She said, looking away.

"Give me five. I'll get you something." With that said, he hurried towards the door in a blaze of hats and jackets.

"Don't you need to know my size?" She yelled after him, but the Hatter was already gone.

. . .

He returned soon after carrying a plastic bag. At first, Kyra was going to question the source of the bag and its contents, but she thought better of doing so and simply resigned herself to not knowing. Hatter dropped the bag into her lap and took a seat opposite her. "Well go on. Through that door you can get changed."

Kyra stood and hurried into the door he gestured to, shutting it after her and searching through the contents of the bag. Inside was a white dress, some tights and a black trenchcoat. Digging further, she was grateful to find a pair of black shoes that looked far more comfortable than the current pair she wore. Changing swiftly into the new clothes, she threw her old stained uniform into the bag and walked over to the basin. Using her hands, she cleaned off a little of the grime on her face and arms before walking back out to the Hatter.

"Much better." He said, looking up from his cup of tea. "Now, why don't you and I have a little chat."

"About what?"

"Firstly, if you are an Oyster like you say you are, you should have a mark from the Scarab." She nodded and stood, up the bottom of her dress to reveal a small part of the tattoo that spread down her thigh to the top of her knee. It was smaller than the usual mark, and luckily in a place she could hide it with the dress. As it were, the sheer tights did nothing to hide the mark. He raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Secondly?" She nudged, and sat down opposite him.

"Secondly, now you're no longer a part of the Queen's regime, we have to find something for you to do."

"As a part of the resistance?"

"Well, I can't see any way of gettin' you back through the mirror and to your world."

"I'm not going anywhere even if you could!" She exclaimed. "Not when I know what's happening here. These are people. They're people with families and lives and I'm not leaving until the Queen pays for what she's doing to them."

"Good for you." He said dryly. "You can stick around 'ere for as long as you like."

"Why would you do that? A few minutes ago you had me bound and staining your grass."

"Are you ever going to let you go?" He said.

"No. Probably not. I'm only human, after all. We Oysters are good at holding grudges if nothing else."

"Clearly." He muttered.

"Relax, Hatter. I'm joking." They sat in silence for a minute, before he pushed a cup of tea towards her like a glorified peace offering. One she accepted happily. "You wouldn't happen to have any food on you?"

. . .

"So how long have you been in Wonderland?"

"About six years now, I suppose. I came through the mirror when I was sixteen." He nodded slowly, taking this information in. A sudden burst of realization crossed his face and he looked up with an incredulous expression.

"You stayed hidden for _six years?_"

"Well, yeah. I just figured out the best way to blend in. And I've been doing it ever since." She remembered every little detail of the first few years; from stealing into the casino as a sixteen year old and finding herself a uniform that was a little too large and a little too strange, right down to the day the Resistance raided the casino. She'd thought the worst; that the humans in the casino were being taken to their deaths, and had fought back. It'd been a splendid decision, if not for the morality, than for the fact it made her look a more dedicated employee. If only she hadn't gotten in the way of a Resistance fighter who'd smacked her over the back of the head and carried her out over his shoulder. Unbenknownst to Kyra, she'd later passed hands before being left in the forest for two days, then bought to the Hatter as a gift from one of the Resistance fighters who remembered where she'd been dumped.

"Six years?" Hatter squeaked, drawing her suddenly from her memories. Making a face, she once more nodded. "You're insane. The Queen would've locked you in the Eye room for all eternity if you'd been caught."

She shrugged, putting down the empty bowl. "I suppose."

Another round of silence fell over the group, and Hatter sighed. "You're probably tired. You can take my bed."

"Where will you sleep?"

"I've got this perfectly comfortable chair." He said, shrugging.

"And I'm sure we can both handle sharing a bed."

Famous last words.

. . . . .

The relationship may or may not develop relatively fast, either way I don't want to get lots of comments on the speed, so let's just say right now; this is a story. I don't plan to conform to a socially acceptable speed of relationship development. Plus, I'm just too much of a sucker for some good fluff. So there. Please, enjoy.


	3. Breaking Hatter's Rules

Kyra rolled over as she woke, relishing the feeling of another body pressed intimately to hers. An arm clutched her body and pulled it closer to another, and a contented sigh brushed at her ear.

_Wait, what?_

The resulting shriek pierced through the air moments before a resounding thud as Hatter leapt up, tripped over, and faceplanted into the ground. There was a pained groan before Kyra stuck her head over to survey Hatter. His haphazard hair was sticking out in every direction, and he'd changed into a pair of black trackpants and a white shirt. Mostly, he just looked displeased.

"I am _so_ sorry." Hatter muttered something inaudible in response, and she blinked at him with innocent eyes that immediately made him melt.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." With that, he disappeared to deal with some rapidly developing important business in a nice warm shower. Kyra had her own important business flaring after six years of suppressed hormones had flooded to the surface. It was everything she had in her not to jump Hatter - who was an _incredibly_ sexy man with one _incredibly_ sexy accent - and release six years of growing tension. Instead, she walked out onto his grass and plonked down into a chair.

It didn't help when he wandered out wearing a towel and the smug expression of someone who'd just released some tension.

Averting her gaze in record time - so fast, in fact, it's a shock she didn't snap her spinal column - Kyra cleared her throat. Hatter cursed and slapped a hand to his face.

"Sorry. I needed…this." He reached out and grabbed a pair of pants from his clothing rack, then stopped to glance at her. Willingly, and not unnoticed by Hatter, her eyes flew over his body and she blushed even redder than her hair. A cocky smirk took over his face before he disappeared back into the bathroom.

"So unfair." Kyra muttered.

. . .

When it comes to living with Hatter, he is certain there are a few things that should never be attempted. The first bridges upon the use of tea for purposes other than drinking, while the second involves dirtying the grass.

It was however, the third thing on Hatter's list, that Kyra attempted on that fateful day.

Entering the bedroom, Hatter was immediately faced with one pair of long alabaster legs poking out from under the sheets, leading all the way up to a pair of blue satin boxers, and another strip of bare skin, a black tank top three sizes too small, and concluding in a petite face more beautiful than anything Hatter had ever encountered before.

The third thing, of course, outlines the rules for sleeping in Hatter's bed; if you _must_ do so, make sure that you are covered by at least one sheet.

A shower was definitely needed; made only a more urgent need by the sleeping Kyra rolling over slightly, bringing her hand closer to her lips and whispering _very _softly, "Hatter," in a tone that could mean only one thing.

Hatter practically leapt into the bathroom, before realizing he'd only _just_ had a shower.

He had another one.


End file.
